Reserved Bay

Hey! There's a King Under Our Parking Lot Too!

Whoever could have dreamed it would one day turn out to be so fashionable for kings to be buried under parking lots?

Following the discovery of Richard III in Leicester, claims are now being made that the Scottish town of Perth - not to be confused with the Western Australian capital - is home to a parking lot which could be the final resting place of James I of Scotland.

James was murdered in Perth on February 21, 1437, part of a coup arranged by the Scottish landowner, Sir Robert Graham, but the exact site of his grave has been lost, but the monastery at which he was believed to be buried was sacked during the Reformation - and the grounds are now the site of the King James VI Hospital, tenements, shops, roads and - intriguingly - a car park.

Murdo Fraser, a Conservative member of the Scottish parliament who is leading a campaign to find the James’s grave, told The Times (paywalled):

“The logistics behind any disinterment would be considerable. However, if finances can be found this project would provide historians and archaeologists with another fascinating look into our often bloody past.”

James I was King of Scotland from April 1406 to February 1437. He spent his first 18 years as King in English captivity after becoming a hostage of Henry IV of England, and later Henry V.

George McPhee, 50, a 'history enthusiast' from Perth, told the Times: “There are interesting parallels with the discovery of the skeleton of Richard III and the resting place of James I. The Leicester search sounded an impossible task but they proved the doubters wrong.”